Making the Best
by chronicyouth
Summary: Rachel didn't expect Shelby to come back. She certainly didn't expect for her to bring Beth, giving Rachel custody. She most definitely didn't expect this to happen.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I usually hate these, but I just want to clarify some things. I know that the way Shelby presents this is not how it works, but for the purposes of this story, it will be legally binding.**

**A/N from later-**Okay! Just another clarification (I've been asked for one). I keep getting asked what ship this is. Honestly, I don't know yet. When I wrote this chapter, it was supposed to be fairly Puckleberry, but it got pretty Quick closer to the end. I am not in control of where my writing goes most of the time; what I write comes strait out of my mind and onto the paper. I don't edit it. I don't change it once I've finished. I write it and immediately upload it. So to answer the questions I've been asked, I'll say this: This fic will not be Faberry. I'm sorry to any Faberry shippers that I may have 'led on', but it will not be Faberry. I'm thinking either Quick or Puckleberry, and backups for each of these include (but are not limited to) Sam/Quinn, Quinn/Finn, Quinn/OC, Rachel/Mike, Rachel/Jesse, or Rachel/OC. They might not even end up with somebody in this fic. I don't feel that romantic relationships are necessary for a good story. Let me know what you want in the comments, but just know that I get final say. I'm going to let the fic go where chemistry and my mood takes it.****

* * *

"Rachel Berry, please come to the principles office." Principle Figgin's tinny voice rang out through the intercom.

Rachel flushed, gathering her things and heading for the door, ignoring the sudden hushed whispers and muted laughs of her classmates. Mr. Schuester stopped her at the door.

"Do you have any idea what this is about?"

She shook her head, and he nodded, as if he expected her to say that. It wasn't a common occurrence for a student to be called to the office, and when they did they were usually in some sort of trouble. Rachel, however, was not one for trouble. Some people may find her irritating and grating, but she never did any real harm to anybody.

Walking down the halls, she kept her head down, flinching when she passed a jock holding a slushee, and made it to the glass room safely.

There was a person sitting in a chair across from Figgins, with long, dark brown hair and stylish clothes. She looked like she was holding something, but Rachel couldn't tell what.

She knocked on the door, and let herself in.

"Thank you for coming, Ms. Berry." Figgins droned, gesturing towards a seat across next to the other guest.

Rachel wasn't paying attention. The woman had turned around, smiling sadly at the teenager, and holding a sweet-looking baby in her lap.

Her mom was back.

Shelby.

And she had brought Beth with her.

* * *

Rachel forgot how to breathe for a moment, leaning on the doorframe for support. Sure, they had left on good terms, but there was no way she wanted to see her mom with her replacement. Shelby's second chance baby.

"What are you doing here." Rachel didn't wait for an answer, walking to the chair and plopping down into it, ignoring her personal rules of etiquette.

Shelby smiled, and Rachel saw that her eyes were watery.

"I have amazing news!" She was ecstatic. "I got accepted for a role on Broadway!"

Rachel shrugged. Why should she care? Moreover, why exactly did Shelby need to come in and bother her to let her know?

"There's just one problem." Shelby said, obviously leading into the story. "The director has some pretty strict rules. No outside commitments."

Rachel was confused. There was a pretty big commitment currently sleeping in Shelby's arms at that moment.

"So, after a lot of thinking, I've decided to give up Beth for adoption. I've found that it's too much for me to handle; caring for a baby and working for my dreams."

Her eyes widened and she gritted her teeth.

"No!" Rachel was adamant. "You can't just abandon her because something better came along!"

Shelby had the nerve to look offended by Rachel's statement. "I'm not abandoning her." She insisted. "I'm going to find her a good home. That is, if you don't accept."

"If I don't accept what?"

"I have decided to give you custody of Beth. My lawyer thinks that it's a good idea, and-"

Rachel cut her off.

"I'm sixteen! I can't raise a baby! What are you even talking about? I can't adopt her! I'm a minor, I'm not even in charge of myself!"

"Actually, you can adopt her. If the parent of the child chooses to opt out of continued parenting, then the closest relative would take custody. My parents and grandparents are dead. I have no siblings. You're my closest relative."

Rachel ran out of words. Nothing was going through her head, except anger and concern for the baby.

"What will happen to Beth if I say no?" Rachel's voice was almost hollow, lacking it's usual spark.

"She'll go into foster care."

Rachel took a few deep breaths, and held out her arms. Shelby carefully passed over the infant, minding her head, and Rachel pulled her close, helping Beth nestle into her arms.

"Do you have the papers?" Rachel asked in a hushed, yet still angry tone. "I assume I'll have to sign a few things."

"I have them right here." Shelby took some folded papers out of her jacket pocket, and passed them to Rachel. "You need to sign in three places. One terminates my rights, another grants you custody, and the last promises that neither you, or Beth will try to contact me, nor I you."

Rachel nodded. She had expected something like that. Signing the documents, she passed them to the oddly silent man who sat on the other side of the desk.

"I need copies of these." She stood up strait, taking care not to jostle the baby, and glared at Shelby. "You need to leave."

"I'll get the documents from Principle Figgins after he gets you your copies, then I'll be out of your life forever." Shelby handed her a soft green diaper bag.

Rachel took it and walked out of the room, heading towards her safe haven. The choir room. On the way, she realized that she needed to talk to a couple of people. Puck and Quinn. They deserved to know what was going on.

She slid to a stop, and started in the opposite direction. Rachel had made it her duty to know the class schedules of all of the Glee kids, and, lucky for her, the two people that she needed to see where in the same class.

Rachel talked a very confused freshman into getting Puck and Quinn out of the classroom as she waited in the hall.

They walked out, obviously very confused, and stared at her and the bundle in her arms. She shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

"Is that…" Quinn started, before getting choked up.

"Beth?" Puck finished for her.

"Yes." Rachel held the baby close, but tilted her so that the others could see her face. "Would you mind very much skipping class and going to the choir room to talk? There's a lot I need to tell you."


	2. Chapter 2

They group hurried through the halls, reaching the choir room just before the bell rang to dismiss students from first period. To fool teachers, they kept the lights off until the next bell rang.

"Why do you have Beth?" Quinn asked her, watching the baby reverently.

Rachel sighed, and sat down, Puck and Quinn folling her lead and sitting across from her, so that they formed a triangle.

"Shelby showed up at the school not long ago. That's why I was called to the principle's office. She told me that she got a role in a Broadway production, and wasn't allowed any outside commitments. Including Beth." She opened her mouth to talk more, but Puck interupted her.

"That Bitch!" He growled. "We trusted her with our baby! She's only had Beth for six months!"

"Puck!" Quinn admonished him. "I agree wholeheartedly, but, even though she's asleep, Beth can hear you."

Puck paled at this, and sat back down. It sounded like he was moderating his breathing, so that he wasn't too loud. Rachel smiled at him supportively.

"As I was saying, she wasn't allowed to have any outside commitments, so she decided to give Beth up for adoption." Rachel paused, not sure how to break the news to them. "I told her that she couldn't do that, and she said that she didn't have to. But, there was one condition." She took a deep breath, steeling herself against whatever they might say. "She passed custody of Beth to her only living relative." Puck and Quinn looked extremely confused, so Rachel elaborated. "Me."

She immediately felt guilty, when Quinn teared up and Puck sucked in and held a breath.

"I couldn't think of anything else to do, and I didn't want Beth to go into foster care. I'm sorry if this means we can't be friends, but you will be able to see Beth whenever you want to. My dads won't be happy about it, but I'm held legally responsible. You can even come over-"

Quinn stopped her, a few tears dripping out of her eyes.

"Thank you so much Rachel." Her voice was shaky, but she was smiling. Rachel glanced over at Puck; he was smiling too, his own eyes a little watery. "I would have never expected you to do this, and…" She seemed to struggle with what to say next. "…thank you."

Puck was nodding along with her stuttered thank you's.

Rachel was shocked. She had been almost certain that they would be angry at her, accusatory even. This was unexpected, and she wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to react.

Beth saved her from having too. A small cry came from the bundle in her arms, and she looked down to see her eyes open. It was astonishing really; Beth had Quinn's exact eyes.

They were all startled by the noise, and Rachel started to act. She slid the baby out of the blankets, and held her in the crook of her arm, the soft pink onesie tickling her.

Another cry escaped her lips, this one louder, and demanding. Beth's face scrunched up angrily as she yowled.

Rachel turned her over, slighly amused at her friend's states of shock, and checked her diaper.

Definitely due for a change.

Cooing softly, Rachel laid her down on the blanket she had discarded, keeping a hand on the baby's belly and reaching for the diaper bag, pulling a diaper and some wipes out of the side.

Quickly and efficently, she changed the dirty diaper, wrapping it and tossing it into the trash can. Rachel picked Beth back up and settled her on her hip, standing and swaying slightly.

Quinn gazed adoringly at her daughter.

"Please, Be-Rachel." She stretched out her arms nervously. "Can I hold her?"

Why would she even ask? Beth was her daughter; she may be in Rachel's custody, but there was no way she would ever say no to Quinn concerning her baby.

"Of course you can." She swung the baby off her hip and into Quinn's waiting arms, smiling when Quinn laughed a few times, tears still running down her cheeks.

"Hi baby." She rocked her, and Beth settled into her shoulder. "I'm your mommy. It's been a while, but it's never going to be that long again. I promise."

She looked over to Rachel. "That girl, over there? That's Rachel. I'm really not sure what she is to you yet, but we love her."

Puck walked over to Quinn and wrapped his arms around the two girls, a tear escaping his own eye.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably. She felt like she was intruding on a very personal moment, and she totally was. Quickly, she whipped out her phone and took a picture of the three of them. Puck, with his eyes closed, his chin resting on Quinn's head, and his arms encasing them. Quinn, her face marred by tears, clutching her daughter close and vowing to never let go again. Finally, Beth, who's tiny hand was resting on Quinn's cheek as she looked quizically at her daddy.

"Um…" Rachel broke the silence. "If it's okay with you guys, I could be another mom to Beth. I love her too, and while I admit I was a little jealous, that went away as soon as I heard what Shelby had to say. But if you guys are uncomfortable with that, I'll just be Aunt Rachel or something."

Quinn shooke her head, and Puck smiled at her. They shared a look, and Puck spoke.

"We want you to be Beth's mom. Well, one of Beth's moms. We could even be a family." He snorted. "A really messed up, teenage family who have all had to clean slushee out of our eyes, but a family."


	3. Chapter 3

Between the three of them, they had come to a sort of agreement. Quinn and Puck would not file for custody, so long as Rachel included them in all of Beth's life. They sat in the choir room for the rest of the day, getting to know Beth and getting to know each other better.

There wasn't any Glee practice that night, so they borrowed a teacher's old carseat and loaded Beth into Quinn's car, Puck following them to Rachel's house to break the news of her sudden motherhood as a group.

* * *

It wasn't their best moment, as fathers, when they screamed at Rachel for not consulting them. It wasn't her best moment when she screamed back.

It had been terrible. They had given her the rest of the day to pack her things and leave, taking Quinn, Puck, and the baby with her forever. She couldn't complain, it was more than what Quinn had, but it wasn't enough.

They had helped her pack her more expensive clothes into bags that Puck brought from under his truck seats, resolving to just buy whatever else she needed. Both Puck and Quinn had offered up their homes, and Rachel decided to go live with Quinn until she could find something of her own.

Puck's offer had been good, but he had a mom and a sister to think about, and it was a three bedroom house.

Quinn lived with her mom, and had a guest bedroom next door to her own, and her mom had said that it was fine with her if she gained another couple of mouths to feed. She hadn't finalized her divorce yet, and was all too happy to spend all of her soon-to-be-ex husband's money.

Rachel cried as she finally left her childhood home, her dad's watching through the windows to make sure she was gone before going back inside.

Once they got to Quinn's house, she unloaded her things and brought them up to Quinn's room. They would be sharing, and making the spare bedroom into a nursery. Quinn had a full-sized bunkbed, left over from when she was a kid, and Rachel was soon set up on the bottom bunk.

They dragged all of Quinn't baby stuff out of storage and cleaned it before setting it up. Beth was asleep again, so they simply put her in the crib and dimmed the light, leaving the doors open and sitting on the top bunk of Quinn's bed.

Rachel couldn't cry anymore. She was leaning against Puck, his arm wrapped around her, Quinn's hand on her knee. It was more than a little awkward; none of them had been friends before, but they were adapting.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you Quinn," She said gratefully, sitting up and moving to the ladder down. "but I've had a really long day and I just want to sleep for a while. Do you think you could take first watch for Beth?"

"Yeah. Rachel, I'm-"

"It's not your fault. Thanks for lending me some pajamas. Out of all the things I could forget, right?" She smiled tightly, and disappeared down the ladder, throwing the sheets on her bed out and snuggling deep into them, pulling them up to her chin and closing her eyes.

She was instantly asleep.

* * *

"I can't believe that she did this." Quinn whispered to Puck, laying down on top of the sheets and looking over to him as he did the same.

"I know." He was weirdly quiet; he had been acting strange since they found out about Beth. Shock, probably. "She just gave up so much for us and our kid. Why?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. She obviously didn't have to. I think that's just who she is."

"She's something."

Quinn started to feel uncomfortable. She changed the subject.

"Beth looks like you. She's got you hair, and your ears."

"Your eyes. She's so beautiful. Her hair even curls at the ends, just like yours does when you let it."

He reached a hand over and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers curl around her chin as he pulled away.

"Beautiful."

Quinn smiled. "You're still talking about Beth?"

Puck lay down next to hear, their arms pressed together and their faces mere inches apart.

"What do you think?" He didn't answer, and she flushed.

She didn't answer, choosing instead to just watch his eyes. It was amazing; they were moving rapidly across her face, from her chin to her ears to anywhere else. They were a clear shade of hazel; green right now, but she knew that there would be blue if he got really intense or passionate about something.

"Quinn…" He began, then trailed off, reaching the same hand back to her face and slowly running his thumb along her cheekbone.

"Puck…" She whispered back. "We could be a family. Just like you said all those months ago when I was pregnant."

His eyes were slowly drifting to blue, and they widened with hope and something that Quinn couldn't identify.

Then a small, hopeless sob emitted from the bunk underneath them, and the moment was shattered, both of them just remembering exactly what their friend had to give up so that they could have a second chance at their little family.

Quinn smiled sadly at Puck before turning over to lay on her side, facing the wall; away from him. He did the same behind her, reaching over her to hit the light switch on the wall, and lay back down facing outward.

Quinn didn't like to wish for things. It made it seem less likely for them to happen. But she let herself hope this one time. This time, they would be a family like the one she had dreamed about when she was a little girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Through the night, Rachel had gotten up to care for Beth twice, and had heard either Puck or Quinn do it three times. When she woke up, she was exhauseted. Checking on Beth quickly, she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Rachel started a pot of coffee and put some pop-tarts in the toaster.

"Morning." Puck stumbled in, grabbing the pot of coffee and pouring himself a generous helping. He had obviously been in the house before; he knew where the mugs and plates were on the first try. Quickly, he poured two more cups of coffee, and Quinn walked in, with a dramatic bedhead and sleepy eyes.

"Thanks." Rachel took her cup and drank, wincing but not stopping when the coffee burned her lips.

Quinn took hers too and set it down on the counted to cool.

"She's amazing." Puck said, staring at the ground. "I went to feed her last night, and she cooed at me. It was so sweet."

Rachel knew that he wouldn't be saying that if he was fully awake; it would go against his image.

Quinn agreed with him quickly, and Rachel nodded. "She's just so perfect."

"Quinn, do you have morning practice for Cheerios?" Rachel asked, remembering the other girl mentioning it in passing a couple of times.

"Yeah, I do. I don't want to leave her though."

"Don't worry. Rach and I will take care of her." Puck said. Then his eyes widened, as if he thought of something. "We don't have a babysitter or daycare where we could leave her."

"Should one of us skip?" Rachel proposed, then quickly shot down her own idea. "We can't skip. That would be a terrible influence."

"We could bring her, and shuffle her around during class. I have a free period after lunch." Quinn suggested.

"No, that wouldn't make any sense. Figgins would never let us bring our baby to school."

"I'll watch her." A new voice entered the mix as Quinn's mom walked in. "I work afternoons and nights, so I could keep her until about 3."

Rachel was nodding, thinking fast. "Do you think you could drive her to the school then, and we'll just keep her with us for Glee practice?"

"That should work." Rachel agreed, and sensed something, setting her coffee down and rushing upstairs to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She kneeled in front of the toilet and heaved, the coffee evacuating her body.

Rachel was suddenly glad that she hadn't eaten her pop-tarts yet.

Cool hands brushed hair back from her neck and held it in a bun briefly before securing it with a hair tie.

"Do you need anything? Saltenes helped me when I had morning sickness." Quinn's voice was quiet, for which Rachel was grateful. She was done throwing up, but the result was a pounding headache.

"Do you have any Sprite?"

"Yeah. I'll go get it." Quinn hurried off, and Rachel took the time to clean herself up.

She adjusted the bun so that it looked more done, and washed her face and hands. Rachel used the toothbrush that she had been given the night before and scrubbed the horrible taste out of her mouth.

Quinn returned, with a cold bottle of Sprite in one hand and some of Rachel's clothes in the other. She handed them to her, and sat on the rim of the bathtub.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked hesitantly.

Rachel nodded. "I feel a lot better. It's weird though; I'm almost never sick. I don't remember the last time I threw up."

Quinn's eybrows furrowed. "That's weird." She was obviously thinking something else, and Rachel was confused.

"What are you thinking?"

"Umm…" Quinn trailed off. "Rachel, I don't mean to be rude but… Could you possibly be pregnant?"

Rachel's eyes widened as she considered the possibility. "It's possible."

"Do you need a test?"

"I'm late." Rachel was close to tears as she started breathing sharply. "Oh my God. I'm late and I have morning sickness." She turned panicked eyes to Quinn. "This can't be happening!"

"Relax!" Quinn rushed over and hugged her. "I'll make Puckerman go to the store today, and you can take the test during lunch. We'll tell him to buy three, just so that you know for sure."

Rachel nodded, and wiped her eyes.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who's the father?" Quinn asked, not trying to do any harm, but curious all the same.

"I don't know." Rachel buried her face in her hands. "I don't know the last time I had my period, so it's either Sam or…" She took in a shaky breath.

"Or who?"

Rachel couldn't even look at Quinn when she delivered the news. "Or Noah."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:Hey everybody. This is the last chapter that will stay on the same storyline for these guys. This is what would happen with either guy as the father, but this is where it breaks. I'll be continuing this story with Puck as the father in Something Better, and Sam will be in a story called Making the Best. I know that Rachel seems a little OOC in this chapter, but she's going through a lot right now, all within the span of two days. Please put up with me? Thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing! It makes my day.**

"Seriously not trying to be rude, but Puck and Sam?" Quinn looked at her incredulously.

She blushed, curling her legs in on herself and resting against the cool glass of the bathtub.

"Yes. I'll know when I am told the due-date. I dated Sam over the summer, and we had a sort of out-with-a-bang night that ended in bed. It was the night before school started; two months ago. We used protection, but the condom broke."

"You weren't on the pill?"

"I was, but the medicine I was taking for allergies negated it and I didn't know until the doctor told me."

Quinn sighed and sat across from Rachel, her knees pulled in the same way.

"And Puck?"

"I'm really not sure. Do you remember that party last month, the one that Kurt hosted?"

"Of course I do. I made out with Santana that night." Quinn scrunched up her nose. "I'm very straight."

Rachel chuckled, and continued her story.

"Well, Noah got really drunk, so I offered to take him home. When we got to his house, we continued drinking, and I ended up waking up in his bed. Neither of us remember the night before, and we were only wearing our underwear, so we just assumed that we had sex."

Quinn looked like she was puzzling over something, but her face cleared quickly.

Three knocks rang out softly.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Puck asked from the other side of the door. "I only ask because Beth just woke up, and Quinn's practice starts in like, 15 minutes."

"We're fine. Come in here." Quinn called out for him, and beamed when he walked in holding Beth.

"Hey Berry, you okay?" Puck looked terrified at the notion of having to deal with some sort of breakdown, and pressed his back against the counter.

She shook her head, tears welling up again.

"Can you do me a favor?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Rachel couldn't look at him, so she focused on Quinn and Beth. They were snuggling, Quinn holding her daughter close.

"Sure."

"Would you please buy me a pregnancy test?" She blurted out, looking him in the eye after she said it. The tears started to fall, and her voice became choked. Unintentionally, she started to ramble. "I don't want to go because then everybody would know, and if you go you could be buying them for anybody, you don't have to-"

"Are you pregnant?" There was a deer-caught-in-headlights look on his face as he stared at her stomach.

There wasn't anything to see, but Rachel wrapped her arms around herself.

"I don't know." Even in her state, she managed to muster up the sentiment to roll her eyes. "That's why I need the test."

Quinn, who had been staying out of it thusfar, spoke up. "Buy her a couple. So that she knows for sure."

Puck didn't look like he heard her.

"Is it mine?" He finally managed to get out.

Rachel hid her face, so her response came out muffled.

"I don't know." She wiped her damp cheeks, and turned to address her newly found ally. "Quinn, would you mind explaining it to him? I'll take Beth and get us both ready for the day."

Not waiting for an answer but receiving a yes, she took the pajama-clad little girl out of her new friends arms and left.

She put on the clothes that Quinn had given her; a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a gray tank top, and slid a dress onto Beth. Instead of doing anything big, Rachel brushed her strait hair and pulled it into a messy high ponytail. A few strands escaped in the front, and Beth amused herself by tugging on them.

They sat on the floor of Quinn's room, Beth oddly quiet as she stared around the room, and Rachel silent as she observed Beth.

If she were pregnant, then she would have custody of another baby. It also meant that her dads would never take her back into their home.

"Hey, Rachel." Puck leaned against the doorframe, staring at her.

She turned, standing up and mirroring him so that she leaned against the other half of the frame.

"Hello Noah. I take it Quinn explained everything to you." She focused on the little girl whom she had balanced on her hip. "I sincerely hope that you're not mad at me."

"I'm not." He glanced at the baby, who was playing on the floor. "When will you know?"

"When the doctor tells me a due date." She shrugged. "I'm really sorry Noah."

"You have no reason to be. I should have learned after Beth; always use protection."

"We might have." Rachel cast her eyes skyward. "We might have even done anything. But that means that I got drunk while pregnant. Really drunk. Don't remember a thing in the morning drunk. I don't even know for sure yet."

"Oh yeah. I'm going to go buy the tests. Quinn already left for practice, so I'll just run us by the store on the way to school." He saw the panicked look on her face, and gripped the top of her arms gently. "Don't worry, I'll go in. You don't need to even look outside of the car."

She nodded, and left him with Beth, picking up her bag and coat on the way to his car.

Rachel sat inside for a minute before he came out, and they drove to the drugstore in silence.


	6. Chapter 6

She sat on the cold tile floor, in the third stall of the girls bathroom closest to the choir room. Numbly, Rachel stared at the stick that held her entire future. There were two blue lines on the pregnancy test, two lines that determined her future, the father's future, and a babies future. Because she was pregnant. The two lines meant positive, she had checked the box six times.

"Rachel?" Tina's voice rang through the bathroom.

"I'm here. What is it?" Her voice was shallow, quiet, and dead.

"Um… M-m-mr. Schuester wants everybody in practice as soon as possible. When you get there, l-l-let him know that I'm at my locker with Mercedes."

"Okay. Thank you Tina. I'm on my way."

The door closed as Tina left, and Rachel stretched out her legs and got up. The test she stowed away in her bag, along with two others that Puck had gotten for her, to make sure she didn't get a false positive. In the end, they all had the same result.

She wandered into the choir room, and sat on the floor with Quinn, who held Beth. The room was mostly empty; most of the Glee club had a reputation for being late.  
At the moment, it was just her, Puck, Quinn, Beth, and Mr. Schue. The teacher was staring at Quinn and Beth, but glanced over at Rachel with pure astonishment on his face.

Quinn leaned over to Rachel. "I told him what you did. He's amazed."

Rachel forced a smile, but couldn't hold it for long. Her face crumpled and she turned away from the other girl.

It's funny; she was able to produce tears in a second, but she didn't seem to be able to stop them.

"Rachel?" Puck moved from the other side of the room and started to slowly walk towards her. Quinn turned too, looking away from Beth for the first time and seeing Rachel's face.

"Oh my god." Quinn stood up quickly, and Mr. Schuester walked over. He didn't seem to know what to do, so he just held his arms out for Beth.

She carefully gave him the girl, then went over to Rachel, pulling her to her feet and holding her.

"Did you…" Quinn started, and didn't have to finish. Rachel nodded. "And you're…" She nodded again, and accidently let loose a sob. Puck stood a distance away, shocked for a moment, and then hurried over to them, gripping them both tightly. Mr. Schue left for his office with Beth, giving the trio a moment of privacy.

Unfortunately, their moment didn't last for long; Finn strode clumsily into the room, followed by Mercedes, Tina, and Kurt. The group stopped in the doorway, apparently shocked by the sight before them.

Rachel, Quinn, and Puck broke apart when the others entered, but they stayed bunched together, Rachel in the middle.

"I made an appointment for you tonight." Quinn whispered to Rachel. "My OBGYN isn't very busy and told me to bring any more teenagers to him, he'd put them high up on the list. We'll go after Glee practice."

Rachel nodded, grateful. "Thank you." The words came out shakily, and she sat down. Finn, Mercedes, Kurt, and Tina were all still standing in the door.

"What are you dildos staring at?" Puck barked at them, and they scrambled for their seats.

The rest of the club entered, all seemingly surprised that Quinn, Puck, and Rachel were seated in a group alone.

Rachel couldn't help it; when Sam walked in, she glanced at him, and then looked away quickly. In the corner of her eye, she snuck a look at Puck too. She was going to ruin one of their lives, and she felt extremely guilty.

"Okay kids, this week we're going to be going over-"

"Umm… Mr. Schue, why are you holding a baby?" Mercedes questioned, and stared at him.

Quinn stood quickly and took Beth, Puck leading Rachel out of the room for the explaination of the custody agreement.

Rachel smiled; she knew why he had taken her out. The club would be extremely judgemental about everything, and she knew that she couldn't handle that right now.

"Noah?" Rachel watched her shoes. Ordinarily, she would look right into the eyes of whomever she was speaking to, but she couldn't bring herself to it this time.

"Mmm."

"If it's yours, will you help me?" She asked in a rush.

He pulled her face up to look at him, and then kissed her cheek. "Babe, I'll help you even if it's not mine." Puck grinned cheekily. "You do the same for me."

A huge weight felt like it had been lifted off of her shoulders. Rachel tackled him, holding him to her with all of her strength in a fierce hug.

"Guys." Quinn peered around the door. "We're done."

Rachel walked back into the room, feeling all of the eyes fixed on her, and sat again.

* * *

Practice flew by, and soon she and Quinn were seated in the waiting room at the clinic. Puck had taken Beth home, so it was just the two of them. They didn't speak, and Rachel wasn't even sure that she could.

"Rachel Berry?" A nurse holding a clipboard called her name.

They got up, and Rachel followed Quinn into the doctor's room.

The doctor who had treated Quinn and Beth walked forward, and shook Rachel's hand, smiling warmly at the two of them.

"Hello Rachel, it's nice to meet you." The doctor smiled. "Quinn, always a pleasure. I'm Doctor Choi."

"Hi."

"If you could please sit here, I'll ask you some questions." Rachel complied, and answered each question to the best of her ability, her face burning when he asked about Puck.

"Alright, now I'm going to need for you to lay down, and pull your shirt up to just beneath your bust line."

Rachel glanced over at Quinn, who nodded encouragingly, worry evident in her eyes.

Dr. Choi squirted some cold, blue gel on her stomach and took a wand-like object out, running it along on her belly.

"Now, we won't be able to hear the heartbeat yet; it's too soon, but I can confirm you earlier findings. Congratulations, Miss Berry. You're pregnant."  
It wasn't a shock; Rachel had already known.

"How far along am I?" She asked her voice surprisingly steady as she looked at the screen. There was nothing there that suggested that she was growing another person.

"I'd say just over 2 months."

"That means it's Sam's." Rachel panicked again.

Dr. Choi handed her a towel, and let her scrub off the blue gunk on her stomach. She did quickly, and left.

Quinn followed her, and they drove home.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sam, I really need to talk to you."

It was Wednesday morning, and Rachel stood in the hallway with the man who had unintentionally fathered her child. Her heart was pounding as she tried to work up the courage to tell him the truth, and she was shaking rapidly.

"Umm, can it wait? I really have to go talk to my history-"

"I'm pregnant!" She blurted out, interupting him. Rachel buried her face in her hands and sobbed once, then attempted to do the breathing techniques that she had learned in her singing class.

Sam had frozen; she didn't even think that he was breathing. A long breath of air came out of his mouth and he picked up his arms, pulling her into him.

"Are you sure?" He whispered above her head.

She was grateful that she had gone to school early, and they were alone in the hallway.

"I went to the doctor's office yesterday. He confirmed it." She pulled her hands away from her cheeks and wrapped them around his midsection. "I'm so sorry Sam."

"No, no. It's not your fault." His voice was clogged with emotion, but Rachel couldn't tell if it was good or bad. "I should have checked the condom!"

Despite her tears, Rachel laughed. "How are you supposed to check a condom, exactly?"

He laughed too, but she couldn't keep up her smile for long. She looked up, and saw that Sam had a couple of tears on his cheek too. Somehow, she drew strength from his tears. He was scared too. That meant that she had to be the strong one.

"It's okay Sam." She said, managing to make her voice sound half-hearted at best. "My dads already kicked me out, so I don't have to tell them. We just have to tell your parents. Then raise a baby, of course."

Rachel wiped his cheeks then did the same to her own.

Sam pulled away slightly so that he could stare at her in shock. "You're keeping it?"

Rachel nodded glumly. "I don't trust adoptive parents after Shelby, and while I support the right for women to choose, I could never abort my baby because I made a mistake and didn't check to see if my medication counteracted my birth control pills." Her eyes widened with realization. "If you don't want to be involved, I can't force you."

Rachel stepped away from him, her eyes burning again, and moved to run away down the hall before Sam caught her arm and turned her back towards him.

"Rach, no." He comforted her. "Of course I want to be involved. I just didn't think you would. You have such big dreams, and a baby is only going to make that more difficult."

"I know. But I already love the kid." She smiled. "I'm not proud of being a teenage mother, but I'm not going to go for the rest of my life regretting it. From here on out I've decided to be happy about it."

"Yeah! That's my baby mama!" Sam said, laughing. "Me too."

"Baby mama?"

Sam and Rachel had been so caught up in each other that they didn't realize that Karofsky and Azimio had come down the hallway

"Damn, Azimio." Karofsky started, a sneer firmly planted on his face. "How are the gays from homo-explosion getting all the hot chicks pregnant?"

"I don't know, Karofsky." Azimio replied, a smirk of his very own plastered to his face. "Maybe somebody else just decided to do it for 'em."

"I'll say this, Azimio; these glee ladies seem to be exactly our type-easy."

Sam roared, and would have attacked the two football players, but Rachel stopped him by laying her hand on his shoulder. She stepped in front of him, and spoke.

"I'll tell you now, and I expect for you to get it through your thick skulls containing what little brains evolution has managed to provide you with; I am not easy. Quinn is not easy. Sam is three times the man the two of you are added together." She glared at the boys, who fidgeted uncomfortably. "You now have two sets of teenage parents with you on their hit lists. Three of them live together with a baby, one of them is pregnant, and all of them could take you out of play with a few well-chosen words to the school administrators, the board, or your parents."

Rachel stepped back chirpily, and took Sam's hand in her own. "Have a nice day, gentlemen."

She led Sam away, and as soon as they had turned a corner, he cracked up.

"That was amazing!" He crowed, throwing his head back with laughter.

Rachel had a disappointed look on her face.

"I shouldn't have done that." She muttered sadly.

"What are you talking about? That was awesome!"

She shook her head. "No, it was mean."

"They're mean to you on a regular basis." Sam stopped them and they sat down.

"That doesn't mean that I have a right to be hateful towards them."

Sam shook his head. "You're being ridiculous, so I'm just going to ignore it."

She laughed.

"Do you want to try dating again?" Rachel asked him idly, playing with his fingers.

"Hell yeah I do. Rach, I never stopped loving you. I don't remember why we broke up in the first place."

"We broke up because you were moving away." She reminded him, smiling happily.

"That was a dumb decision, and I vote we never do it again."

"Agreed."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, this took forever. I have been very busy, and I can't promise anything for the rest of the story in conjunction with timing and releases. This chapter kind of sucks, but it's better than nothing, right?**

**Update: Okay, to the guest who said these are the worst ships ever, try the other one, Something Better, which is very similar to this up to a point where it changes ships. **

Rachel beamed as she waked down the hallway, hand in hand with Sam. Nobody knew the turmoil that was taking place in her mind, but they knew something was up. Karofsky and Azimio must have spread the word that she was expecting, because the couple was getting strange stares from all sides on their way to Glee practice.

The day had gone by quickly, so quickly it was almost a blur. A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders when Rachel had told Sam that she was pregnant, and she had been giddy up to the moment she realized that she would now have two kids by the time she was 17. She had obviously already realized it, but every few minutes or so she forgot, and remembering it all over again made her nauseous.

"You go on to the choir room. I have to go get Beth."

Sam nodded and kissed her forehead before heading off in the opposite direction. "Be careful!"

"I'm just going to the parking lot! Relax." She laughed and marched out the door and up to Mrs. Fabray's car. "Thank you so much for taking care of her during the day!" Rachel wondered if she would do the same for her.

"No need to thank me at all. Taking care of her makes me feel young again, like when I had Quinnie and Francis." The older woman smiled kindly at her and patted her shoulder as she picked up Beth. "Don't worry Rachel, I'll take care of your baby too."

Rachel stood up so quickly she banged her head the roof of the car.

"How did you know?" She felt ashamed; she had wanted to tell her herself, in a good way.

"Sweetheart, you weren't exactly secretive in the bathroom. I heard everything." Rachel rubbed the back of her head with one hand and stared at the ground, Beth playing with her hair.

"I'm so sorry. I understand if you don't want me to stay." Tears began to well up in her eyes and Rachel did a very un-Rachel thing. She tried her hardest to suppress them.

"Oh, Rachel." Mrs. Fabray rested her hand on Rachel's shoulder as the teenager tried not to cry. "I would never. I've made that mistake once, which was once too many times. You're welcome with us until you want to leave."

"Thank you so much."

A car honked from the other side of the lot and Rachel wiped her face.

"I've got Beth!" She said in a forcefully cheery voice. "Have a good day at work!" Rachel rushed off with the baby and the diaper bag, arriving back to Glee club just in time.

"You okay?" Puck took Beth into his arms and smiled supportively, speaking in a hushed tone.

"I'm fine Noah. Thank you."

Rachel smoothed out her skirt with her newly freed hands and sat down between Sam and Quinn.

The girl next to her quickly scooted her chair closer.

"Rachel. Are you all right? Did something happen? Did somebody say something?" Quinn sounded anxious as she interrogated her. "Did you tell Sam?"

"Yes, I told Sam. He wants to be involved. It's such a relief: I thought he'd be angry." Quinn put a hand on Rachel's shoulder, and Rachel was struck with the familiar gesture. Quinn was just like her mother.

"Okay guys, this week we're going to be focusing on a musical that I think really highlighted some controversial points in history-" Mr. Schue started with his usual excited chatter, when Santana interrupted him.

"So, Manhands, heard you're preggers." Her snobby words were accentuated with the grinding sound of a nail file.

"Oh my god, just one day with Quinn and she's already knocked up?" Mercedes chimed in. "Girl, maybe not the best environment for a baby girl. Two teenage mommies and a teenage daddy?"

"Excuse me?" Quinn stood furiously but cooly, showing off what she had learned from Cheerios; never show weakness. It was obvious to Rachel that she was hurt and upset, but all the other Glee members saw was the Head Bitch about to go to town on a couple of girls.

Artie leaned forward and got out his phone.

"I'm just saying. That little girl and whatever creature Berry pops out will end up just think it's totally okay to be a mom in high school." Santana raised her hands.

"Yes, Santana, I'm pregnant." Rachel stood up and moved to the front of the room before Quinn attacked somebody. "I would have thought that you all would have known the mechanics of pregnancy by now, but I guess not. I suppose that I'll just have to explain it to you. A woman cannot tell that she's pregnant for some time. It wasn't Quinn's influence, and the insinuation that it was is absurd and rude."

Puck and Sam looked at each other with nervous faces as Quinn moved up to join Rachel at the front of the room.

"We're going to raise our kids together as friends and if any of you have a problem with that, you'll just have to get over it." Both girls glared at Mercedes and Santana in particular at that statement.

"My apologies Mr. Schuester, but Quinn, Beth, and I will not subject ourselves to being in this kind of environment. Sort it out and maybe we'll come back next time." Rachel stormed out of the room; Quinn scooped Beth out of Puck's arms before following her.


End file.
